Touch of Fire (Into the Darkness Book 1)

by Jasmine B. Waters

  ˜

  Mari was back in that strange room that she was beginning to know so well. It all felt so vividly real for a dream. The soft sheets wound around her naked body, sliding over her skin as she moved. She sat up on the bed with her hands behind her, propping her up and slid to the end of the bed. She could feel him before she could see him. Her pulse quickened, and her breathing became shallower with every step he drew closer.

  His body was tall, broad and incredibly muscular. Mari couldn’t help but think that if she was going to sculpt the perfect male body, this would be it. He was nothing like the Fae or human men she’d ever seen. They had a leaner quality, where this man who drew closer to her was a solid mountain of toned muscle.

  The light cast shadows across his smooth, tan skin, and her eyes traced slowly along the curve of each muscle in his chest and stomach as he neared her. He was wearing pants that seemed to just barely hang off him, and Mari had the overwhelming realization that she wanted nothing more in that instant than for there to be nothing in between them.

  She couldn’t tell if it was moments or an eternity that passed before he finally closed the distance between them. He sank to his knees before her at the edge of the bed. She reached a hand out and caught a piece of the long, dark curls that hung beside his face, letting them trail through her fingers. She still couldn’t see his face, it was hidden in shadow as usual, but she felt like she knew him better than anyone.

  He reached large hands out and slid them up the insides of her thighs spreading them wider apart. His touch sent a riot of passion through her body, every muscle clenching in response to his fingers inching ever higher up her thighs. Mari wound her hands in his thick, black curls as he leaned forward. His lips and tongue brushed lightly against her delicate flesh, setting every inch of her skin he touched on fire.

  Her back arched, pushing her hips gently forward to meet his searching tongue. A moan escaped her lips, and the pitch of her panted breaths increased as his tongue and fingers slid within her relentlessly. The firm pressure of his large hand on the inside of her thigh was hot, and it squeezed gently as she clenched her muscles, rocking forward to meet his tongue.

  Rational thoughts had long since fled, and all Mari could do was let her eyes close as her head fell back with another soft moan that started deep in her throat. The heat that was pooling low in her body was too much to bear. She felt like it would consume her if it didn’t release soon. Her breath came in ragged, deep moans as his tongue teased and swirled, feeling just within reach of the blissful release…

  ˜

  Ben’s eyes flashed open as Mari writhed against him, waking him from a deep sleep. He hadn’t imagined anything other than sleep would have been happening that night, but there was no mistaking the soft moan that slipped from Mari’s lips. Ben tightened his arm around her waist, puller her body flush against his. He inhaled deeply, trailing kisses up the side of her neck.

  Mari gasped as the touch of Ben’s lips on her neck ripped her out of her dream. Her mind was foggy and she kept trying to figure out what had been a dream and what was really happening. Her hand reached down, tracing the length of Ben’s arm before drawing his hand up under her shirt to her breasts, though her mind registered that there should be bigger hands there. She ground her hips lightly back against him, wincing as she felt uncomfortable burns rubbing against each other on her thighs. She was lost a moment later as visions of a massive, sculpted body continued filling her thoughts. Her mind was trapped somewhere between her dream and the present. In that moment, all she knew was she needed release.

  Ben let his fingers tease at her, enjoying how much she seemed to respond to his touch. His hand trailed down the smooth expanse of her stomach beneath her shirt. He traced a finger along the length of lace that was covering her hips. As she arched her back against him he slipped his hand beneath the delicate fabric, intending to let his hand explore where he had only dreamt of exploring previously, but retracted his hand in shock when Mari cried out in pain as his fingers felt between the soft skin of her thighs.

  Mari yelped as Ben’s fingers came out from under the elastic at her waist and it lightly snapped back against her skin. It felt like having someone walk up and smack you when you had a terrible sun burn. She rolled onto her stomach out of Ben’s reach. There was no more confusion in her mind, she was fully awake after the searing pain, quite literally, snapped her out of it.

  “Whoa! What’s wrong?” Ben asked anxiously as he leaned up on one arm to get a better look at Mari. He had been so wrapped up in something finally happening between them that he was still reeling a little with the strange turn it had taken. His mind was fluctuating between wanting desperately to pick back up where they left off and figuring out what he had done wrong. He wasn’t super experienced, but he’d certainly never had that reaction before. He looked at his fingers inspecting them, half wondering if there was a sharp nail or something that could have explained it.

  Mari pushed herself up off the bed, wincing as the fabric on of her underwear scraped against the tender skin beneath. She sucked in a shallow breath with a hiss as she pushed herself up off the bed, causing her thighs to shift against each other. She stood and let out a slow breath, looking down she could she deep red streaks leading from just above her knee inside her thighs and stretching all the way up her leg where they ended in two large, red handprints.

  Her eyes slowly found their way up to meet Ben’s very confused green ones. She saw his eyes widen as he saw the marks on her legs. She stammered trying to find some sort of explanation or reason for what had just happened, but there was simply no way could explain to him that not only was she a magical creature, but she was having weird psychic pornographic dreams that were burning her in her sleep. She blushed deeply, and the flush seemed to spread from her head all the way down her.

  Without much coherent thought, she turned on her heel and fled for the sanctuary of the bathroom. It was the only room in Ben’s studio apartment that had a door that could be closed. Her mind was racing. She bent gingerly removing the lacy fabric and gasping as she realized that the entire sensitive area was red and angry. She reached for a washcloth and wet it with cool water, pressing it gently against her skin she sank to the floor.

  Mari’s mind reeled as she tried to figure out what the heck had just happened. She had never had even the smallest inclination of being intimate with Ben. Ever. They were friends, and she was confused and flustered at what had transpired. She had no idea how she was going to explain herself, or the strange marks on her legs. Her head fell back against the door with a slight thud. She had no idea what was happening to her. How on Earth was she supposed to figure out how to explain that to her very human, best friend?

  Mari heard Ben’s feet shuffling across the floor towards the bathroom. The door reverberated gently against her back as he knocked. She closed her eyes, wishing with all her might that she could simply disappear into a hole in the ground.

  “Mari? You ok in there?”

  The hot sting of tears welled beneath Mari’s eyes as she attempted to simply will herself into non-existence. She could hear the anxiety in Ben’s voice, and feel the waves of concern, confusion and lust rolling off him. Mari attempted to repair the mental blocks she had to put in place, but seemed to keep struggling and failing. She rarely had any trouble blocking out humans, but she was so exhausted that she just couldn’t maintain the energy to keep them up.

  “Mar? Please, just say something.”

  “I’m fine,” she lied as she knocked her head back against the door attempting to force some sense into herself. She heard Ben settle down and felt the door move as he sat back against it on the opposite side.

  “You’re a shitty liar, even through a door.”

  “You’re right. But I don’t even know what to say, Ben,” she sighed squirming as the washcloth lost its coolness and the searing heat began screaming for her attention again. She flung the cloth across t
he small room in frustration. She had no idea how she was going to manage facing her friend ever again.

  Ben’s mind was reeling as he attempted to make heads or tails of what had just happened. He had been so close to finally being able to experience something he had dreamed of for years, but then seeing the strange red marks and handprints on his friend’s thighs had rather abruptly brought his fantasy that they would finally be together to a halt. Mari hadn’t even told him that she was seeing anyone, let alone how she could be hurt like that. It was just exceptionally odd, any way you sliced it.

  “Who’s the guy?” Ben asked bitterly, raking a hand through his pale-red hair. He inhaled slowly, trying to steel himself for the news that she was dating someone. It wasn’t like she wasn’t beautiful. Ben had always been the one who dated, while Mari had been single for years. He wasn’t particularly surprised someone had finally caught her eye. Ben just felt miserable that he hadn’t gotten the courage to make her see him sooner.

  “Ben…It’s not like that. I just can’t talk about it, Okay?”

  “Sure,” he muttered. Her voice sounded thin and strained as she spoke to him from behind the door. He felt like such an idiot. She probably had been just dreaming about this other guy, and he misinterpreted it and took it too far. Ben continued mentally kicking himself as he searched for the right thing to say.

  “Can you just drive me home now?” she asked, feeling guilty for asking him to drive up the mountain roads in the wee hours of the morning. She just couldn’t imagine trying to fall back asleep or explain what was happening to her.

  “Sure, I’ll get your clothes,” he said as she heard him moving and walking in the apartment behind her. Mari took a steadying breath, trying to build up the courage to endure the very long car ride to her home and the new awkwardness between them.

  Chapter 5

  It had been an extremely long, uncomfortable ride back to Mari’s house, both physically and emotionally. Mari couldn’t find the words to explain herself to Ben, and Ben had been equally content to ride in complete silence other than the soft Indie music on the radio. Even their departure had been strained and awkward. Neither knew what to say to the other or how to handle it. They usually were very affectionate friends, and would hug; but after what happened, neither seemed able to bring themselves to touch the other.

  Mari got out of the car and shut the door behind her with a sigh. She leaned down with an apologetic half-smile on her face and waved to Ben. He returned the wave with a strained smile of his own before reaching down to put the car in gear. Mari stood and watched as his taillights drifted away in the distance. She had never thought it possible to feel more miserable, both physically and emotionally.

  She wanted nothing more than to collapse into her own bed and just sleep, but she was more than a little bit afraid to do so. The last time she slept she ended up with burns all over her legs, there was no telling what would happen if she was left to sleep uninterrupted this time. Exhausted, she mentally gathered herself and headed towards the gate at the end of the drive.

  Mari felt a rush of arrogance and lust roll over her. She let out an exasperated sigh, confident she knew who the guard was for the morning. With a herculean amount of effort, she drew herself up and continued forward. She tried to keep her eyes forward, and ignore Fin completely but she saw him slide out from behind the desk with a smug expression painted across his face.

  Mari quickened her pace, despite her legs and body screaming at her in protest, causing her to almost waddle as she tried to rush past the gate and out of Fin’s reach. Whether deterred by something else or the sheer ridiculousness of how she was walking, Mari was supremely grateful when she made it past the gate without any sign of Fin.

  She slowed her pace, wincing as her skin pulled against itself. It seemed like ages before she reached her bedroom, a sigh of relief escaping as she closed the door behind her. She reached down and began peeling clothes off as gently as she could manage. With the clothes discarded, she walked across her room carefully to the full-length mirror and attempted to survey the damage.

  Her mouth dropped open with surprise as she found a couple places where light blisters had begun to form within the handprints on her legs. The image of dark curls between her legs, and large, powerful hands gripping her there fluttered in her mind. Despite the pain, her body clenched with desire. She desperately wished she knew what was happening to her.

  Moving gingerly to the bathroom, she attempted to apply a healing salve as best she could. It smelled strongly of lavender and frankincense. The salve eased some of the initial burn and began at least steadying her nerves and grounding her. Moving back to her room, she dug through her dresser in search of the loosest-fitting, softest pants she could find.

  She glanced at her bed longingly. She wanted dearly to collapse into it in a heap, but her body was still sore enough to convince her that was a terrible idea. Stifling her exhaustion, she pushed herself forward and left the sanctuary of her room and made her way towards the kitchen. She couldn’t sleep, so she was simply going to have to supplement with caffeine. She needed all the caffeine she could get and as quickly as possible.

  Mari was thankful that she hadn’t run into any of her family or the staff on her way down to the kitchen. It was probably best for everyone concerned if she could simply guzzle a gallon of coffee before she spoke to anyone else for the day. She walked carefully, with slow and measured steps to keep her legs from brushing against each other as much as possible. The salve was starting to work, but there was still a lingering tenderness that was a constant reminder for her.

  Mari padded quietly through the kitchen and went about making coffee. The rich aroma of brewing coffee was teasing Mari as she leaned against the counter, waiting for enough of the precious liquid to accrue in the carafe for her to finally pour herself a cup. She was so intent in her anticipation of the cup of coffee that she had missed two of her brothers entering the room behind her.

  “Wow…you know, I’ve heard of zombies and all; but I’ve never seen one face to face. What are we supposed to do, chop its head off? Right, Al?” Eryn was nothing if not ever joking with everyone in his life, and Mari knew without looking it would be him who had come up with the oh-so-clever comparison of her to the walking dead.

  Mari sighed deeply and turned her head slightly to see her twin brothers standing in the kitchen gaping at her disheveled appearance. She had simply pulled all her messy curls up into some sort of bun, but they were escaping in every conceivable direction giving her the appearance of someone who had touched a live wire. She was still wearing Ben’s tee-shirt that was about three sizes too large for her and a pair of comfortable, yet faded, grey sweat pants.

  “Ha…ha…You’re just so clever,” Mari replied deadpan and returned to watching her glorious caffeinated salvation accumulate to the point she could pour a cup. She supposed she would have to share with her brothers now that they were all assembling in the kitchen. She crossed to the refrigerator and grabbed a handful of ice and tossed it in her coffee. Cold coffee, for those diehards who simply want to consume their caffeine as quickly as possible without worrying about burns. Mari had her share of burns to deal with, and didn’t picture burning the entirety of her mouth as an option.

  Eryn stood laughing at her musing over a bowl of fruit, while his twin, Alren, perused the pantry behind him. Magni was stumbling in from the back porch, dripping in sweat from his morning run with Val following close behind. Silas entered with their youngest sister in tow, bickering about the fact that she would, indeed, have to work on her training that morning regardless of how much it “sucked”.

  Mari loved her siblings, but she loved them so much more when she was properly caffeinated. She sipped her black coffee with the enthusiasm of someone drinking from the fountain of youth for the first time. She felt the glorious liquid sliding down to her very empty stomach with a blissful fullness. She crossed back to the coffee pot to comman
deer another cup before it all disappeared within the hungry, cranky horde that descended on the kitchen.

  “Am I the only one that noticed Mari looks like she was hit by a freight train?” Eryn asked with a wide gesture around the room, “Is no one else curious who won? Mari or the electric fence?”

  “Shut up, Eryn,” Magni snapped as he squeezed behind his brother to reach for a bowl, “It’s too early, and you’re not that funny. Mari…we’re not up for anything with the missing bear until tomorrow. I guess we’re meeting with Uncle Illwyn later to see what he finds out from the guy we brought in. You’ve got until right before dinner to do whatever.”

  Mari nodded, slightly disappointed that she didn’t have anything work-related to focus on. She had been silently hoping that they would have some sort of a lead that they could follow and get her mind off her dreams, and the sleep she so desperately wanted but was afraid of.

  Mari’s eyes inspected each of her siblings as they milled about the room. Magni was the eldest of all of them, and was by far the most taciturn. The next oldest were Alren and Eryn, the twins. They were paired off for work since they could tolerate each other and worked well together, whereas Magni couldn’t stand working with Eryn. Silas was next, the quiet healer in the family who seemed content to take care of everyone and everything. Val was the next oldest outgoing, and was who Mari could see as the most likely to replace her father, given that he knew how to talk to people. Mari was only a year younger than Val, and they were raised almost as if they had been twins since they were so close in age. Rena was the youngest of all of them, the baby of the group at thirteen years old.